Diplomacy and International Politics

This week the world celebrates 30 years since the moment that symbolized the end of communism in Eastern Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall was an inflection point for citizens across the former Soviet bloc who organized to demand freedom. As democracy spread in the years that followed, Europe's trajectory as a continent -- whole, free, and at peace -- seemed secure, so much so that "the end of history" was proclaimed.

Nick Burns, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO during the Bush administration, joins Chris Jansing after President Trump announced the possibility that he could attend May Day celebrations in Russia next year to mark the 75th anniversary of World War II. Burns tells Chris that it's "something the President has to consider," noting that "we were allied with the Soviets to defeat Hitler."

The policies and conduct of the Trump administration are changing the way much of the world sees the United States. Host Marco Werman discusses the issues with Arturo Sarukhán, a former Mexican ambassador to the US, and Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, executive director of The Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. 

Professor Nicholas Burns speaks on CNN's Don Lemon about Secretary Pompeo

Iraq is experiencing a pivotal moment. Protesters, mostly youths, have again taken to the streets in Baghdad and several southern provinces. They initially demanded jobs and an end to corruption. Now they are calling for the resignation of key government figures, the dissolution of parliament and provincial councils, electoral reforms, and a rewrite of the constitution.

As part of the series "China’s Rise and the Future of the Transatlantic Relationship", co-sponsored by The Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the Asia Center, expert panelists discussed how the rise of China and issues around technology, trade and defense are dividing the transatlantic alliance on September 13th, 2019.

The Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship (PETR) and the Asia Center will be hosting a new event series over the course of the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2019-2020 academic year, focusing on China's rise and its implications on the transatlantic relationship.

Macron's second official visit to the country should be about more than feeding the growing appetite for consumption by the Chinese. Rather, Macron ought to use his meetings with his Chinese counterpart and other top officials to boldly advance a broader European agenda on issues ranging from climate change to intellectual property and even to human rights.

The events of Oct. 17 that triggered a leaderless civilian-uprising turned-revolution caught everyone by surprise. Let us establish one important fact: No one saw this coming. The government’s inability to extinguish the wildfires, an unfolding and growing economic crisis and widespread corruption set the stage for what transpired on Thursday, Oct. 17. However, it is certain that no one imagined what precipitating cause would push the people to the streets of Lebanon.

Great nations don’t abandon their responsibilities.  They don’t pull back from global leadership, pull up the drawbridges and cower from what is happening in the rest of the world. The America and the United Kingdom that made our modern world more prosperous, more stable, more just, more peaceful have not disappeared.